Raidmax is a company that has been around since 1988 and has been making unique and high quality chassis and power supplies for gaming or custom desktops. Today we have the newer Raidmax Agusta, which has many interesting features that have not been regurgitated as some of the designs that have been coming out the past few years. Being a mid tower case on paper, the Agusta is very large, being close to the size of the recently review windtunnel case, which means it is going to take up space. However, this big Gundam themed case comes packed with a lot of nice features such as:
From Raidmax site:
NOVEL SMART ONE-CLICK BAY’S COVER FOR 5.25″ BAY.
STYLISH CUT-OUT DESIGN OF SIDE PANEL GIVES BETTER VENTILATION.
PRE-ROUTED CABLE MANAGEMENT.
SLIDE OUT SIDE PANEL HANDLE.
WATER COOLING SUPPORT
HONEY COMB COVER GIVES EASY INSTALLATION AND GREAT AIR FLOW.
NEW ROOMY CABLE MANAGEMENT DESIGN.
BOTTOM REAR WITH 2 X 80MM FAN.
TOP I/O PORTS WITH EXTRA USB3.0 X 1, FAN CONTROL SWITCH & LED LIGHT ADJUSTER. FAN CONTROL SWITCH CAN CONTROL UP TO 5 FANS.
FRONT MOUNTED 120MM LED FAN COOLS YOUR HARD DRIVE.
EXTRA LOCATIONS FOR 2.5″ SSD.
EASY TO INSTALL H.D.
3.5″ H.D. RACKS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR 2.5″ H.D. OR SSD INSTALLATION.
TOOL-FREE INSTALLATION DESIGN.
UNIQUE GAMING DESIGN OF FRONT DOOR.
Whether or not you like the Gundam theme desktop you will have to admit it has a unique design to it and will most likely turn heads. I will say I would have like some Gundam style head on the front of the case, but that could have been a copyright issue. The looks are a little bit tacky and I would think that people will either love this or hate it. Despite being considered a mid tower case, the Agusta is quite massive, even bigger than many full towers. It weighs only 18lbs with all the cables and extra bits that come with it inside, which is lighter than many cases in its category, though.
Overall, I was pleased with the fit and finished and the rigidity of the plastics and metals used to construct this case. One aspect I would be wary of is the front bottom door, which feels flimsy and seems like it could break with an accidental collision with someone walking into it. Aside from the door the quality the Agusta is what I expected for a $100 case.
When installing the motherboard I had trouble getting the supplied pillars to fit correctly into the screw holes and had to either get new ones or had to use a tiny socket screw driver to force them in. This was quite aggravating to say the least, and I wonder why the some of the pillars provided did not work while others did. Also, routing the fan connectors require some to be detached from its pre-bundled state as the wire was not long enough to reach the bottom of my motherboard. The distance for my current power supply had a hard time reaching the 4 pin/8pin CPU power connector, and I would think certain larger heat sinks might impede being able to connect the board. However, these were the only missteps and everything else installed smoothly.
What I enjoyed the most was the sub level hard drive bay that actually has enough spots for all the hard drives that I currently use in my main computer. It also conveniently supports 3 x 5.25 inch bays, 2 x 2.5 inch and 6 x 3.5 inch or 2.5 inch drives without any fuss as the tool-less design works very well. I wished there were a few 3.5 inch adapters for the 5.25 inch bays to allow for a more spread out setup so heat can dissipate a little better. Despite this, the layout of the case allows for easy “tucked in” cable management, and I found things were easy to neatly setup. I also used the unused bottom bays as storage for extra parts and tools.
The fans that come with the case are not the quietest in the world, but at least the fan speed adjuster can dictate how much your ears will suffer. The sound with the fans on range from barely audible to an irritating whir of wind, and I found case temperatures were still around 80 degrees Fahrenheit at full gaming with the lowest setting, at full blast they were around room temperature (75 degrees Fahrenheit). I feel that having at least a 120mm fan on side of the case could have worked even better too, and it wouldn’t have broken the bank for it to be added. Also swapping the 2 x 80mm fans for regular 92mm fans would have been feasible as well and would have worked better. For those who want high performance and quiet fans, swapping would be the best bet and it is what I would do if it was my own personal case.
So the Raidmax Agusta is not exactly a perfect case, but at its price range it is certainly a good buy. The case flows a ton of air and everything fits neatly into the case. I would recommend it for those that want a cheaper case with a flashy design and want to do watercooling. The extra features make you forget about the minor flaws and those who purchase this case will not be disappointed by its performance.
Raidmax Agusta Mid Tower Case – $99.99
